Rheumatoid arthritis, pregnancy and parenting

Explore and document coping strategies and support mechanisms employed by mothers with rheumatoid arthritis

Chief investigator: Shannyn Meloncelli and Gail Crimmins
Institutions: University of the Sunshine Coast and MOVE
Year: 2015

This project gathered the personal stories of mothers living with RA, specifically about their coping strategies relating to parenting, working, studying and maintaining friendships and relationships alongside managing their RA.

Watch the video, and read the report and summary here.

• Video 
• Report
• Plain language summary 

Identifying effective interventions for improving knowledge and skills in women regarding contraception, conception, pregnancy and/or breastfeeding and developing cross-discipline consensus on important messages for Australian women with RA concerning contraception, pregnancy and breastfeeding

Chief investigators: Dr Ilana Ackerman, Associate Professor Andrew Briggs, Associate Professor Sharon van Doornum
Institutions: MOVE, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Curtin University
Year: 2015

Women with RA face many challenges and decisions when negotiating the journey to parenthood. This is mainly due to the symptoms associated with RA and the potential side-effects of medications used to manage it.

This research project: evaluated the published literature concerning self-management interventions that aimed to improve knowledge and skills in women regarding contraception, conception, pregnancy and/or breastfeeding; and conducted a Delphi study to develop important messages for women with RA concerning contraception, pregnancy and breastfeeding, as identified by expert rheumatologists, obstetricians and pharmacists.

Read the report and journal articles here.

• Report
• Briggs AM, Jordan JE, Ackerman IN, Van Doornum S (2016) Establishing cross-discipline consensus on contraception, pregnancy and breast feeding-related educational messages and clinical practices to support women with rheumatoid arthritis: an Australian Delphi study. BMJ Open. 6:e012139. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-01213
• Ackerman IN, Jordan JE, Ricardo M, Briggs AM (2015) Understanding the information needs of women with rheumatoid arthritis concerning pregnancy, post-natal care and early parenting: A mixed-methods study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 16: 194.
• Ackerman IN, Briggs AM, Ngian G, Van Doornum S (2016) Closing the pregnancy-related information gap for women with rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology. 55: 1343-1344.
• Ackerman IN, Ngian GS, van Doornum S, Briggs AM (2016) A systematic review of interventions to improve pregnancy-related knowledge and self-management skills for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical Rheumatology. 35(1): 33-41.
• Ngian G, Briggs AM, Ackerman IN, Van Doornum S (2016) Management of pregnancy in women with rheumatoid arthritis. Medical Journal of Australia. 204(2): 62-64.
• Ngian G, Briggs AM, Ackerman IN, Van Doornum S (2016) Safety of anti-rheumatic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis in pregnancy and lactation. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases. 19(9): 834–843.